Morning
by ariadne melody
Summary: Set after 2.2. Stefan and Elena take a bit of time off.


A/N This is set right after 2.2- Ferris Wheel Scene. Reviews are awesome! Thanks!

When the sun began to rise, it was time to get back to reality. Elena had been curled up on the Ferris Wheel seat, her head resting in Stefan's lap when she sighed, said something about getting down before anyone saw them and freaked. Slowly sitting up, she eagerly kissed Stefan again while he manovered them into standing and jumped. She raised her eyebrows as Stefan gracefully landed and neatly placed her back on the ground.

"I'm impressed," she stated, prompting another smile as he kissed the top of her head. She slipped her hands into his jacket pockets, feeling no desire to go back to the real world.

"Let's go to your place," she whispered into his ear.

He raised his eyebrow but chose not say what he was thinking, to say, But Damon might be there. Instead he smiled and kissed her, momentarily torn between practical needs and desires. They needed to help Caroline. They needed to resolve the Lockwood issue. They needed to drive Katherine out of town, ideally with a stake to the heart. Yet all he wanted to do was to whisk Elena off somewhere, anywhere but here and kiss her and worship her body.

As they walked to the house the talked softly, trying to quell their shared anxiety, trying to sooth each other other. The streets slowly become brighter, and Elena can't help but think of Caroline, poor, frightened, yet erratically violent Caroline. How would Caroline protect herself from the sun? Unless they could get Bonnie to help, Caroline would have to spend her days curled in some darkened corner of her house- which definitely would cause suspicion and would definitely not suit Caroline at all. She glanced at Stefan's ring, and felt a rush of gratitude for it.

Stefan tightened his grip on her hand when she yawned. "Did you sleep okay?

"No," she stated flatly. "Honestly? I just, well, I ended up crying a lot. I think I actually cried myself to sleep."

"I'm sorry," Stefan softly said, and she leaned against him as they walked.

At the Salvatore house Elena headed straight for Stefan's room, not even bothering to glance around to see if Damon was lurking. In his room Elena discarded her rumpled clothes in favor of one of Stefan's shirts an climbs into his bed, sighing lightly. Stefan changed into sweats and joined her, rested a hand on her back.

"I know we have... stuff to deal with," Elena whispers, "but can we just sleep for a while?"

"Absolutely," Stefan murmured and kissed her.

She ended up curled in his arms, Stefan clutching her protectively. Every sound in the house could be a potential disaster- the creaking stairs could be Katherine sneaking up, could be some sort of monster ready to attack.

Uneasily, Stefan shifted slightly, causing Elena to sleepily protest and roll on top of him. So he's not going anywhere for the time being, which honestly? Does not bother him at all. So yes, there's reality to deal with, a whole myriad of problems, but Stefan figured that could wait. For now, he closed his eyes, enjoying the peaceful moment with Elena.

He didn't open his eyes when he first woke up. He registered the fact that he was holding Elena, and Elena's hands rested by his heart. Slowly he opened his eyes and smiled at the still sleeping Elena. She has somehow managed to kick the blankets away from them, leaving her long legs exposed. In her sleep she muttered something that sounded an awful lot like his name. Stefan smiled at this, wove one of his legs between hers. They hadn't slept long enough to form their usual contortion of twisted limbs.

The sound of creaking floorboards forced Stefan to sit up, immediately ready for a fight. It's only Damon, pacing around the bed and casually moving objects from place to place.

"About time," he muttered. "I could have been anyone or anything and you didn't even-"

"Get out," Stefan said angrily, reverting to the younger brother speak.

Damon raised an eyebrow and stopped pacing. "Ar you just going to sleep the day away?" he asked while staring at Elena's legs. Glaring, Stefan pulled the blankets back over Elena and ignored the question.

"Need I remind you of our litany of problems?" Damon sighed. "Lockwoods. Baby Vampire Barbie. Crazy witch who wants to kill me. Our evil bitch of a girlfriend. Good thing John Gilbert's gone or we would definitely have a problem."

"I know," Stefan said. "And what do you suggest we do?"

In her sleep Elena shifted, burying her face in his chest, her hair hiding her face. Stefan suspected she was awake, that she just didn't want to face the day. Or Damon.

"Maybe you should call Alaric," he suddenly says. "He might be able to help with the whole Lockwood problem."

"Or you could call him."

"I'm occupied," Stefan smirked, enjoying the look on Damon's face. He felt Elena smile against his chest.

Damon rolled his eyes but left the room. As soon as the door closed Elena raised her head and began to kiss him.

"You should really get a lock for your door," she smiled.

"True." Stefan flipped them over and began to kiss to her neck. "Some sort of alarm system."

He moved his lips down her throat, slid his hands along her thighs to underneath the shirt's hem. She moaned softly and wrapped a leg around his hips.

"Seriously?" Damon's voice called up from downstairs. "People, we're in crisis mode here! We don't have time for your romantic antics!"

"Don't listen to him," Elena hissed.

"Wasn't gonna."


End file.
